Saturday, July 22, 2017

Issues

Of course, there’s no trip complete without a bike issue, or
two, I guess … Peppermint had had a fob issue in Whitehorse, Yukon, and it
wouldn’t work, even after replacing the battery.She had to open that saran-wrapped-pristine
manual she had.That, of course, did not
make her happy as she doesn’t do manuals.

It’s a wonder she could remember anything about how to do
the codes.She didn’t have a passcode
written down but somehow dredged it from the recesses of her mind.It was a trial, and she was madder than a wet
Rocky Mountain Sheep, but she finally got it.Being that there was no shop until Grand Prairie, Alberta, it was a few
days using the code.But she got pretty
good at it.

The evening in Lethbridge a fellow biker mentioned to Rockin’
Rita that she had a low tire.When the
girls got up on Saturday, July 1, it was flat.Out came her hand pump, and she worked it for about an hour or so to get
it back up to a good pressure.They were
hoping to nurse it to Great Falls, Montana, about 165 miles or so away.

The shop was called, and they were informed we were on our
way, trying to get there before closing.No one knew if they’d make it or not.Maybe there’d be time spent stopping and pumping it up again.

Someone was watching, and the tire held until Great
Falls.The shop was awesome, and found
the problem in the tire … a screw.Rockin’ Rita now has a souvenir of what had been a nearly-new tire.

While at the shop, Peppermint decided to put on some highway
pegs to get her legs away from the heat on the bike.Besides, both girls would now get a wash for
the bikes.It was well-worth it as you
could hardly tell what color they were from all the bugs.

Ugly, buggly.

The shop got them in and out and they were back on the road,
headed to a place called White Sulphur Springs that another biker had told them
about.It was a small town, and wouldn’t
you know it … they ran into someone they knew … Petitest’s mom, Lucy, who lives
in Montana.She was there for a family
reunion.They had a great but short
visit and the girls went off to have some dinner.

The girls with mom, Lucy, and brother, George. How fun to see someone we knew in this small town.

On the way back to the motel, which was little cabins where
you could park along side of them making for easy unloading and loading, two
deer walked across the street.They’ve
seen quite a bit of urban animal life now.

Otherwise, not much happening here.

The next day, Sunday, July 2, it was all about riding.We were in Montana, needed to get to Colorado Springs, and
wanted to make some time.There were no
photo stops.That’s quite unusual for
Peppermint as she always has at least two cameras and her phone camera.But riding came first.She knew there was a schedule and it had to
be met.There was a hotel room and
hundreds of women waiting.

Another day, and hundreds of miles.Monday, July 3, was the day we were due to
arrive at the hotel.Peppermint was
Facebook friends with a man who was friends of a friend.Isn’t that how it always is?Anyway, Michael asked if the girls could stop
and meet for lunch.He said he and his
wife would meet us on our route.So we
said yes.

Michael and Deb met us … and it was such a great meeting and
visit.They are people worth knowing.

It's always fun to meet someone you have known only through FB.

Michael had considered going on a trip a number of
years ago with a group my friend, Uncle Glen, knew.I went … and we all rode motorcycles to Key
West.Michael didn’t go on that trip,
but he and his wife have certainly covered a lot of other ground.It was fun, and we got fed.But all too soon it was time to get back on
the road.

At this point, I used the GPS again to get us on toward
Colorado Springs.Yet again, another bad
move.I will conquer this thing.I hope. More on that later.

All I can say, is that eventually we did make it to Colorado
Springs, and the Women on Wheels Ride In host hotel.Finally. It was great to be met by WOW Riding In Committee members toting bottles of water and giving us welcoming hugs.